Star Fox: Fracas on Fortuna
by general whitefur
Summary: "ROB, find that black hearted ape's location." -Fox McCloud, Star Fox: Assault. There it is, in a nutshell. Quote. You get the idea. Oikonny. The ape is Oikonny. Just in case you're a heathen and haven't played Star Fox: Assault. Post-Assault, because people were kinda confused. Post-Assault. Poooooossssttttt-Asssssaaaaauuulllttttt.
1. Chapter 1 News From the Pink

**Chapter 1**

 _ **News from the Pink**_

 _Bzzzz! Bzzzz! Bzzzz!_

Fox McCloud's ears perked at the strange buzzing sound in his darkened quarters. Kissing the sweat damp fur of Krystal's neck, Fox thrust inside her a bit more deeply and asked, "Are you using a vibrator?"

Krystal, her tongue hanging out of her muzzle, drooling just a bit onto the mattress, shook her head and replied, "Don't need to."

 _Bzzzz! Bzzzz! Bzzzz!_

Grunting as he finally managed to hilt himself in her, Fox kissed the back of her neck, pushing aside her damp purple locks with his nose. "Then what," another kiss, "Is making that," a nibble, "Damn buzzing noise?" he punctuated his question with a final kiss.

Krystal, despite wanting nothing more than to simply melt into the soft mattress of Fox's bed, managed to break herself out of her emerging sex haze and look over at the bedside stand. On it sat her and Fox's communicators and, to her dismay, Fox's was buzzing away. "Foxy?"

"Yeah?" His breath was hot on her neck as he reached between her body and the covers, grasping at her breasts as they pressed themselves into the sheets. Once he had a good a grasp, he pulled her up so she was sitting in his lap, with him on his knees. He sighed happily as Krystal's right hand migrated south to cup his balls.

 _Bzzzz! Bzzzz! Bzzzz!_

"I hate to say this but..." Krystal gasped as Fox pinched first her right nipple, than her left. "Ohhh goddesses."

"Mmmm, I love that you like that," Fox whispered in her ear. "Now, what did you want to tell me?"

Tail wiggling between them, Krystal pointed to the bedside stand. "Communicator. Yours."

Krystal regretted it the moment she said it, as Fox wilted behind her. Oh, he stayed nice and firm inside her, but she could feel all the stress that had been draining out of him the past hour beginning to flow back into him. "I'd love to ignore it but..."

"I know." Krystal reached back to cup his cheek ruff, giving him a glance that told him she understood. Slipping from his grasp she settled down on her side of the bed (something which still threw Fox for a loop every time he thought about it), not bothering to cover herself. She smiled at him and cocked her head towards the still buzzing communicator.

Sighing, Fox reached for it and answered the call, making it audio only. "McCloud."

"Fox? Why am I on audio only?"

The unmistakeable voice of Katt Monroe filled the room, making Fox smile despite himself. "Can't say. But what's up? You know Falco has a separate comm number."

"He does? What, you mean you gave him his private comm back?"

Fox chuckled, and then had to bat an exploring blue hand away from his crotch. "Y-yeah. Um, I hate to rush this but, what are you calling a-bbooout!" Fox threw a death glare at Krystal, who had gotten her hand back in position and started stroking his length with a loving, tender touch. "Stop it," he whispered fiercely back at her.

"You okay Fox?" Katt's voice asked him.

"F-fine." Fox shifted on the bed, setting his legs down on the carpeted floor, back turned to Krystal. "You were saying?"

Katt was silent for a moment, then asked, "Fox? Is Krystal there?"

"Hi Katt!" Krystal said, making her presence known as she pressed her chest against Fox's back. "Foxy-Woxy and I are kind of in the middle of something, so if you could make this quick?"

A giggle came over the commline, and Katt said, "Sure hon. I wouldn't deny you the zucchini for anything. I just wanted to let you know I'm gonna be heading your way tomorrow. Something came up on Fortuna and I think you're gonna be interested."

"A mission?" Fox's ears swiveled to focus entirely on the communicator.

"Like I said, something came up," Katt told him. "I'll fill you in on the details tomorrow. And, you should probably drop Peppy a line about it when you get a chance after we talk."

"Katt..." Fox said, feeling a growing knot of tension in his stomach. Peppy had assumed the rank of general about a month ago, replacing the aging and injured General Pepper, though Pepper continued advising Peppy as the hare managed the transition period.

"Hey, I'll tell you tomorrow," Katt told him, her tone brooking no argument from the tod. "Now, get back to that sweet love making you two were in the middle of. Catch ya later stud." And with that the commlink terminated from Katt's end.

Sighing, Fox ended the call on his end, then turned back to see Krystal giving him one of her don't-even-think-it looks. Smiling, Fox got his feet back into bed, then pushed her down onto the covers. Settling the tip of his length against her warm, wet folds, Fox smirked and said, "Now, where were we?"

* * *

Morning came too fast.

"It is now 05:30 hours Corneria City Standard Time. This is your wake up call Fox McCloud."

The tinny, artificially modulated voice of ROB 64, the _Great Fox II_ 's pilot and operations AI sounded through the ship's intercom in Fox's quarters. Groaning, Fox swung his legs out of bed and tapped the response button. "Thanks ROB, I'm up."

"Good morning Fox, would you like the night watch report?"

Glancing behind him at the still slumbering form of his magical blue space vixen, Fox shook his head. "Give it to me when I get up to the bridge."

"Affirmative. Will there be anything else?"

"Can you have the coffee running?" Fox asked absently, his gaze and attention fully on the gentle rise and fall of Krystal's chest as she slept.

"Affirmative."

"That'll be all then ROB. Thanks." Fox switched off the intercom, then got out of bed and headed for the shower. He looked between the standard sonic shower, and the more luxurious water shower. Ordinarily he restricted himself to sonic showers, but after last night? Sniffing himself Fox nodded. "Water it is."

Turning the knob to set the temperature, Fox grabbed a towel from the linen drawer and set it on the counter top. Once the shower was steaming warm he stepped in, no undressing necessary. He'd fallen asleep in his birthday suit once he and Krystal were done with each other.

Feeling the warm water blasting and trickling down his fur, Fox let out a happy breath. He and Krystal were together. After a year of waiting, shyly dancing around an attraction he'd never dared hope was mutual, he'd finally bitten the bullet and admitted how he felt once they'd gotten back to Corneria following the battle against the Aparoid Queen. It had been a close thing, that battle, and more than once Fox had been convinced none of them would get out alive. Through it all though Krystal had been his rock, the blue vixen standing by his side and keeping him confident that they would come through this with another win under their belts. _And we did win,_ Fox thought to himself. _In more ways than one._

Lathering himself up with soap, Fox did a quick rinse, then repeated the process, wanting to make sure and avoid leaving any remnant of the tell tale musk of sex. Krystal would be a bit irritated at him for it, since in her culture that scent had far fewer taboos surrounding it. Really though, the last thing Fox needed was Falco making some snide remark because of it.

Shower completed Fox shut off the water and stepped out, grabbing the towel and doing his best to dry out his hair and fur. He'd need the fur drying station though, no two ways about it. Tossing the towel in the laundry Fox went for the fur drying station, and hoped Krystal didn't catch him at an inopportune moment.

* * *

In the bedroom Krystal stirred. She sensed a curious and disturbing lack of a warm, fuzzy body next to her in bed. Eyes opening she listened to the sound of the shower running, a frown on her face. Couldn't he let her enjoy their scent on each other before he showered it all off? Oh well, she knew Fox didn't mean anything by it, even if her dear mother would have been appalled. _What is it she used to say? A man with your musk is a man you can trust._

For a moment Krystal found herself caught up in bittersweet memories of her home and her family. The happiness she had felt, and that Andross had taken away. No one but her had survived Cerinia's destruction, and now it was just an ever expanding cloud of asteroids orbiting her system's sun. At least she had Fox now, and her friends. She was slowly building a new life for herself. She knew her family would be happy for her in the Celestial Realm, where they were no doubt still trying to put out the fires of her mother's latest streak of exhibtionism with her father.

Shaking away the memories before she drowned in nostalgia, Krystal's frown turned to a smile as she noticed the sound of the fur drying station. Slipping out from beneath the covers, Krystal headed straight for the bathroom. She reached for the door control and, without knocking, let herself in. She nearly burst out laughing at the sight that greeted her. "Foxy! What are you doing?"

Fox looked at her, his expression like that of a beast caught in a car's headlights. His hands were cupping his balls, though nowhere near as sensually as hers had last night. He was still glistening with shower water from head to toe, so he hadn't been there long. She half expected it to start evaporating into steam when she saw the blush on his face. "Ummm...drying off?"

"With your balls in your hands?" Krystal strutted further into the bathroom, a bemused look on her face.

Still blushing, Fox explained, "I'm sorry, it's just, they're the hardest part of the male anatomy to get dry."

"Mmhmm. Well, if you'd like to be alone..." Krystal trailed off leadingly.

Fox grunted and moved his hands. "No. You can take a shower."

"Not just yet." Krystal made her way over to him, then pulled him close to her. "Smell my scent?"

Fox breathed in through his nose, a happy look on his face. "Musky vixen."

"Thanks to you, love." Krystal pecked him on the cheek. "Next time give me a chance to enjoy it too?"

Returning her kiss, Fox said, "I promise. Now go take a shower, stinky vixen."

Smacking him lightly on the chest, Krystal shook her head and muttered, "Lylatians, no respect for natural scent."

Fox just made a show of holding his nose, to which Krystal responded by grabbing his discarded towel from the laundry and throwing it at him. This was followed by the pair of them giggling to each other as Krystal got in the shower. Time to get ready to face another day.

* * *

"Katt? Here? I better hide my porn collection," Falco said, looking miffed at the thought of the pink feline coming aboard the _Great Fox II_. Somehow Fox got the feeling that, even on a Dreadnought like the _II_ , there would be nowhere he could escape the sounds that always followed a reunion between the pink feline and the blue pheasant.

"Why?" Fox asked, glancing curiously at his avian best friend as they strode down the corridor leading to the launch bay. "Not like she doesn't go through eight batteries a day on her own."

"Yeah, well, she gets jealous," Falco replied, shrugging his shoulders. "What can I say? When women want me, they don't like to share me."

"Sure Falco," Fox replied, sharing a look with Krystal.

"All I can say," Slippy chimed in, "Is you need to come up with a better password for it than you have right now. 124 is not secure."

"What do you mean it ain't secure?" Falco looked down at the diminutive, but impeccably clear skinned toad, in disbelief. "It's freaking genius. They think it's gonna be 123, so they try that, and when it isn't, they'd never think that it could be 124, that would just be too obvious. I'm hiding in plain sight."

Sighing and looking pained, Slippy said, "That isn't how computer security works Falco."

Shaking his head, Fox tapped the button to open the doors to the launch bay. They stepped in, glancing towards the atmospheric shield as the _Catspaw_ flew in as gracefully as expected with a feline at the controls. The old Invader-class fighter had seen some upgrades from what Fox could tell. He could spot the extra glow of an FTL drive on the back, and the coloring had been updated from the more subdued magenta, to a blazing hot pink.

The ship settled in one of the docking ports reserved for visiting ships, and the engine powered down with a soft, but noticeable whine. Once the engine had stopped and been given a moment to cool, the canopy popped open and Katt Monroe, in all her pink furred, platinum blonde glory hopped down, landing on the deck without a sound. Tossing her headset back into the cockpit, she strutted across the empty space separating her from the Star Fox team. Stopping in front of Fox, she gave him an appraising look, and then said, "You look better than you did last time I saw you."

"I do?" Fox asked, wondering what she meant.

"More relaxed. Less tightly wound," Katt explained. Then she looked over at Krystal, her best friend in all the world, and jumped right into the vixen's waiting arms. "Kryssy!" The pink feline planted a big, long, lingering kiss on the blue vixen's muzzle, which had Fox blushing and Falco staring, while Slippy just headed over to the _Catspaw_ to get a look at the new upgrades. Pulling back from the kiss, Katt said, "Missed ya blue. So, you keeping Fox's plumbing nice and clean?"

Giggling, Krystal's tail wagged behind her. She'd long ago gotten used to Katt's overly affectionate nature when it came to her. Foxy didn't mind, he knew there was nothing there but Katt's typical outrageousness and Krystal's ever present flirtatiousness. Those two would do anything to get a blush from him. "Oh yes. Not a night goes by that he isn't draining the pipes."

Katt grinned and looked back at Fox. "Oh you lucky boy. You have no idea how much I'd love to get into this vixen's panties."

"You certainly tried your hardest," Krystal replied, sneaking an appreciative look at the pink feline's bottom. "Have you been doing squats?"

"Mmm. Sure have." Katt's gaze went to Falco, who was standing there looking expectant. "What do you want?"

Falco shook his head and walked up to her. "Nothin'. Just admiring the view."

"I'll let you admire it in more detail later, little man," Katt promised him. "In the meantime, we have some business to discuss. Where's the briefing room on this new boat?"

"This way," Fox said, motioning back towards the door to the central corridor. "Slip!"

There was a clang, followed by Slippy yelling, "Yikes!" before emerging from beneath the _Catspaw_. "I like the upgrades Katt. Though I think I could get you some more efficiency in your warp propulsion matrix, if you don't mind me working on it?"

Katt nodded and leaned down to plant a kiss on Slippy's brow. "I'd love it if you did that sugar."

Slippy blushed but managed not to stammer when he replied, "No problem."

The five of them headed back down the central corridor, and Katt said, "This ship looks almost identical you know."

"It is the exact same class," Fox answered. "Though with all the latest technology. She's actually a tiny bit more advanced than the one we took to the Aparoid homeworld."

"You got lucky with Pepper," Katt said, purring as Falco sidled up next to her and wrapped a prehensile wing around her waist. "He was always a softy for you, even if he tried never to let on."

Stepping into the turbolift, Fox said, "Briefing room." The lift kicked into motion.

Katt, noticing the tight quarters they were in, took the opportunity to rub her posterior up against Falco's crotch. Ever the tease was she. Falco grunted and tried to push her away, which only made Katt rub harder. When the lift doors opened again Katt sauntered out, and threw a wink back at Falco, letting the bird in on her intentions as clearly as possible.

A few meters down the hallway was the briefing room. Fox led the way in, and then took a seat at the head of a triangular table. On the walls surrounding them were various monitors and holographic displays, all of them on standby and displaying the Star Fox logo. Resting his hands on the shiny metal table, Fox looked to Katt, who had taken a seat to his left, and asked, "So, what is it exactly that you're here to tell us about?"

Leaning back a bit in her chair, Katt answered, "You guys remember Oikonny right? You know, the guy you all toasted in about six minutes flat, right before the Aparoids invaded." Heads all bobbed in recognition. "Well, turns out he may or may not be alive. There have been some sightings on Fortuna and the local rumor mills are going crazy."

"Why? Not like Oikonny was that big a deal," Falco said, his characteristic blasé attitude shining through.

Katt sighed, her tail lashing behind her. "Oikonny is a rallying cry. A symbol for people still discontented with the way things were going before Andross, and the way Corneria handled it afterwards. He might not have a fleet anymore, but as long as he's alive, he's a threat. Even if he is kind of an idiot."

"I agree." Fox nodded, glad to see he and Katt were on the same wavelength. Andrew Oikonny was the nephew of the evil emperor and maniacal scientist, Andross. As far as Fox was concerned, that made him guilty by association. "Do we have any idea where he's hiding?"

Katt shook her head. "My sources can't say. All I know is that he's been sighted a couple of times in the less reputable sections of Fortune City. My guess, he's working the criminal networks there to start building up another fleet. And given the state of the Cornerian Defense Force right now..."

"Game over," Krystal said, entering the conversation for the first time. "I must say, Oikonny and Andross certainly seem to have a way with mercenaries and low lifes. Just how many ships do you think he could acquire?"

"A lot," Falco answered before Katt could. "I rolled with Katt and the Hot Rodders long enough to get a sense for the underworld in Lylat. Trust me, they have plenty of firepower Corneria and the other planetary governments don't know about."

"He's right," Katt agreed. "He could probably scrounge up close to fifty, maybe sixty ships. Might not be enough to get through Corneria's defense grid, even given its current state, but it would be more than enough to cause havoc all across the space lanes."

Fox remained silent for a moment, considering everything that had been said. "Alright. I'll contact Peppy and see about making the arrangements for an op on Fortuna. In the meantime, Slippy, go ahead and refuel Katt's fighter, and do any refits she needs or wants. The rest of you, the day is yours. It'll take us at least twelve hours to get to Fortuna from here. Sound good?"

"Sounds _purr_ fect," Katt responded, her eyes immediately meeting Falco's. The avian gave her a cocky grin as everyone filed out of the briefing room.

Katt paused in the doorway, and motioned for Falco to go on ahead of her. Stepping back into the briefing room, Katt said, "Hey Fox?"

"Yeah?" Fox looked over at her, pausing in his reach for the comm panel.

"Maybe don't tell Peppy that I'm in on this?"

Fox groaned. "Oh no. What is it this time?"

Biting her lip for a moment, Katt answered, "I may or may not have been involved in a...sub-legal transaction for a shipment of weapons to a group of concerned citizens on Fortuna last month."

"Aii." Fox ran his hands down his muzzle, pulling at the fur briefly. "They haven't killed anyone, have they?"

"Not to my knowledge, no," Katt replied, her voice a bit sheepish. "Look, they just wanted to be able to protect their homes and families. There are a lot of isolated settlements on Fortuna, and they're even more isolated after Oikonny and the Aparoids trashed the planet's comm lines and nearly leveled Fortune City. I just, I couldn't say no to that."

Leaning back in his chair and glancing up at the ceiling, Fox replied, "And you're sure they aren't linked to any known terrorist groups operating out of Fortuna? Simian Sunrise? Fortunate Sons? Or any of the big crime syndicates?"

Katt shook her head vigorously. "I checked. No known affiliation. They just wanted to be able to defend themselves."

"And what exactly did you sell them?" Fox wanted to know. He looked directly at her. "Small arms? Explosives?"

"Small arms." Katt paused and reconsidered. "Mostly."

"Goddammit."

"I gave them one homing launcher. Not even a current one," Katt said, looking defensive. "They needed something for anti-air capacity."

"Anything else?" Fox gave Katt a death glare, letting her know the exact level of bull crap he thought that last answer was.

Gulping visibly, Katt shook her head. "Nothing else. It was all just standard issue blasters. Nothing illegal to own, assuming you have the permits."

"Except the homing launcher," Fox reminded her. "Alright. I understand why you did it, but I'm still gonna have to tell Peppy. He's going to want to know where I got this intel, and he's not going to take "anonymous" sources as an answer." Katt looked stricken. "But, I'll also tell him that you're absolutely vital to the mission, and that you've promised not to sell weapons to 'concerned citizens' ever again. Deal?"

"Deal." Katt replied, a big smile lighting up her tan muzzle. "Oh Fox I could kiss you for this."

Blushing just a bit, Fox rolled his eyes. "Save it for Falco. I think he needs it more. Now scoot, I gotta call Peppy." _And I am not looking forward to explaining you to him. Again._

* * *

"...and you have a meeting with President Vulpine at two o'clock, followed by a meeting with senior lawmakers of the intelligence committee until two forty-five, and then an appointment with the Secretary of Defense at two fifty."

Peppy's ears wilted as he listened to his assistant drone on about his schedule. Not for the first time he was cursing himself for having agreed to this. Oh, it wasn't as if he hadn't known just what he would be getting into. On the contrary, he'd been fully aware just how difficult being the highest ranking military officer in an entire star system would be. No, what killed him was the fact that he had known about all the headaches, and he'd said yes anyway. Peppy looked at his assistant, a young male hound named Alec who, for a moment, Peppy thought looked a bit like Pepper had in his youth. "When is lunch?"

"I have that scheduled for two forty-five until two fifty."

Peppy stared, then nodded. Right. Of course. Heaven forbid he be allowed to take a break. Peppy had slept about six hours in the past two days. The Aparoids had left a mess all over Lylat, and even if all the blasted bugs had self-destructed, Corneria and the other worlds of Lylat were still picking up the pieces. Before he could say anything in response, the comm panel on his desk started beeping. Tapping the answer button, Peppy smiled at the young lieutenant that appeared above the holoprojector. "General Hare? We're receiving a message from Captain McCloud sir, you said any communications from him should be considered top priority."

"Send it through immediately," Peppy ordered. It would be good to speak to Fox, even if he could only spare a few minutes. Alec looked disapproving, and Peppy motioned for him to leave. Alec saluted and exited, tail tucked between his legs, likely worrying about the fact that the general had seen the look on his face. Alec had one fault, his addiction to schedule. Peppy had chosen him for that exact reason, since he knew he would need someone to remind him of the structure inherent to the military, something almost totally absent on Star Fox. Alec kept him on his toes and on schedule, and for that Peppy didn't mind putting up with an occasional bit of attitude.

"Sending it through now sir," the lieutenant said.

A second later the image changed and Peppy smiled broadly at the sight of Fox McCloud. "Fox! How are things holding up out there?"

"Pretty good Peppy," Fox said, returning the smile five fold. "I take it they're keeping you busy down on Corneria?"

"And on Macbeth. And Fichina. Aquas. Zoness. You name it, they're sending me out on tours." Peppy shook his head and heaved a sigh. "Can't believe I chose this over retirement."

Fox chuckled. "I can."

Running a hand over his mustache, Peppy said, "You think I just can't stop, don't you?"

"It's who you are Pep," Fox answered. "You've never been able to say no to a tough job."

Glancing briefly out of the window in his office, Peppy looked at the image of Corneria City. Battered and ruined in some areas, but filled to the brim with construction equipment and a bustling population pulling together to do whatever it took to rebuild. And Peppy had been given one of the most important tasks of all: rebuilding the Defense Force that would keep those people safe. And, hopefully, rebuild it in such a way that would keep them far safer than they had been in the past. "I suppose you're right." Peppy turned back to look at Fox's hologram. "Now, did you call for a chat, or is something happening that I need to know about?"

Fox's image frowned. "I wish I could say it was just to chat, but actually, something has come up."

Peppy listened intently as Fox filled him in. The details seemed sketchy, sketchy enough that he doubted anyone in intelligence would be interested in looking into this on their own. A few unconfirmed sightings of a man thought definitively dead did not make a reliable lead. More than likely anyone in intel who had heard this had put it down to post-Aparoid, post-Oikonny hysteria and moved on. But then, that was why the Cornerian Defense Force kept teams like Star Fox on retainer. "Sounds like it could be a problem. And one I wouldn't mind having you look into. We're stretched for assets at the moment, but I'll do my best to have backup available if anything goes wrong."

"Don't worry Pep, I know how things operate. Star Fox is used to doing most of the work solo," Fox replied.

That brought a smile to Peppy's face. "Where did you get this information, by the way?"

Fox's ears tipped back for a moment, and he said, "Well, funny story there..."

As Fox recounted to Peppy what Katt had told him, Peppy's smile evaporated, and he felt just about ready to start steaming at the ears. He loved Katt dearly, she'd helped them out of jams, and been a rock for Falco when he needed one. If Star Fox had been a family, which he knew it was for most of them, then Katt was certainly the crazy cousin of the group. Always doing something she shouldn't be. It infuriated him to no end, but at the same time, he respected her and knew that he could trust her not to do anything totally unethical. Katt Monroe may not have always followed Federation law and, in many cases, she had flouted it completely, but she always stuck to her own personal code of ethics, and sometimes that made all the difference in a tough situation. "I'm not happy Fox."

"I know." Fox looked almost as if he were preparing for a scolding.

"But I agree with you that she'll be important to the mission." Peppy removed his glasses for a moment to rub at his eyes. "You agree to keep an eye on her for this mission, and that's fine. I'll smooth things over with the Fortunan authorities. Assuming it comes up. Hell, what am I talking about?" Peppy put his glasses back on.

"The way things are on Fortuna, I doubt anybody noticed what she did. Just, like I said, keep an eye on her?"

Fox nodded, looking serious. "I always do. I don't think we're going to have to worry though. When it comes to dealing with anyone associated with Andross or the Venomians, Katt's as straight as an arrow in wanting to bring them to justice."

"True," Peppy conceded. "I'll get you all the clearances you need. And I'll be expecting to debrief you personally. Understood?"

"Understood." Fox smiled then. "It's good to still be working with you Pep."

Peppy smiled back. "Keep in touch. Peppy out."

The transmission terminated and Peppy sat back in his chair. "Alec?" The hound returned quickly enough that Peppy briefly wondered if he would have to add eavesdropping to the young officer's list of faults.

"Yes sir?"

"Contact Bill Grey and Bulldog Squadron, tell them I may have something for them in the near future. Then we better get going, don't want to keep Agnus waiting."

Alec nodded, making a note on his tablet. Peppy stood up and tugged on his uniform coat. Time to get back to work.

* * *

A/N: Well, for those of you who might be wondering, the reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I am alive, and I am working on stories. A few, actually. This is one of them. It's a very short story, it'll only run three chapters. It has a plot, but it's a simple, straight forward one. This story is really more of a character piece to get everything set up for another story I intend to do in the Canonical timeline. What that story is will probably be pretty obvious by the end of this story.

Also, there's nudity and sex and blah blah blah...and yes, I started the story with sex. Fear not, I do care about my writing. And it'll be rated M, so no worries there.

First Generation is still in progress. I've done quite a bit of editing/some changes for the first five chapters, and I'm now going to be moving on to the new stuff. Like all my future stories, including this present one, I will be completing it in its entirety before posting. So you guys have a while to wait yet. Worry not, I have other ideas for one shots that'll be coming in between.

Anyway, I'll wrap this one up for now. I'll be posting this story one chapter a week from now until it's done. So, like, two weeks. Hopefully y'all enjoy it, and there's more to come in the future. Until next time...

-FurfUrFurryFurfUR


	2. Chapter 2 Fortune City

**Chapter 2**

 _ **Fortune City**_

The stars drifted lazily by as Katt looked through the viewport of Falco's quarters. She was nude, her body covered in a light sheen of sweat. Once she'd gotten out of the meeting with Fox she and the little man had made a beeline for his quarters. Katt twirled a lock of her platinum blond hair around her finger, cooing as she felt Falco wrap his wings around her from behind, resting his beak on her shoulder. "Hey," he whispered.

"Hey," Katt whispered back.

"I missed ya pink thing," Falco told her, his feathers tickling her tummy.

"I missed you too." Katt reached behind her to scratch at the feathers of his crest. Falco rumbled in appreciation. "I'm sorry I didn't make contact when the Aparoids..."

"S'okay," Falco interrupted. "I know you can take care of yourself."

Katt turned around to face him, resting her hands on his shoulders. She looked at him with adoration. If only people could see Falco in moments like this. Unguarded, loving, affectionate. She knew he kept this part of himself hidden away for a reason. He'd seen too much disappointment and heartache in his life. Katt knew Falco nursed a lot of pain in that artfully chiseled chest of his. She just wished she knew a way to make it go away. Or that she could find a way to make it easier to bear. "I know you worried though."

Wings reaching down to cup her rear, Falco looked a bit shy. "Yeah."

Katt kissed his beak, pulling his eyes back toward her when he tried to turn away. "Falco, you know you can just say the word and I'll stay here with you. You know that, right?"

Falco shrugged those big dumb shoulders of his. "I know you like your space. And besides, we tried that once. Didn't work so well."

It pained Katt to hear him say that. Their time together on the Hot Rodders had been rocky and dramatic, full of fights and jealousy. They'd both been a lot younger then, and a lot more conflicted about what they wanted to do, what they wanted to be. And there had been...other, more romantic complications. _Cool. He just never could let go. Neither could Falco._ That blue cat had seen her through a lot of her hardest times, times when Falco hadn't been all that able to help. She'd begrudged him that once, but now she understood just how much Falco had gone through at the same time back then. "It won't be like that. Not again," Katt said, trying to reassure him.

With a grunt, Falco said, "Yeah? Not like I don't have more blue competition right here."

Katt knew just what he was talking about. She eyed him, wondering if he was really serious. "Really Falco?"

Chuckling low in his throat, Falco shook his head. "Nah. Krys's got her first taste of zucchini, she ain't ever comin' back from that."

"Miyu did," Katt argued.

Falco shook his head. "Don't count."

"Why not?" Katt asked.

"Miyu's a lesbian," Falco replied, squeezing Katt's rear. Katt let out a tiny meep.

"She's bi."

"Katt, everyone's bi. Just depends on what degree," Falco cawed, a teasing glint in his eye.

"Oh." Katt nodded, nuzzling into the soft, short feathers of his neck. "So, how long have you been bottoming for Fox?"

Falco pulled back, then took her by the arms and led her back to the bed. "I ain't never done that. I'm straight as can be. Mostly."

"Mostly?" Katt eyed him, her interest piqued. "Okay, what's the story?"

Falco got a look in his eyes, like he knew he'd caught her, and said, "Blow me and I'll tell ya."

"Ugh." Katt shook her head and rolled her eyes, tail lashing behind her. From romantic and vulnerable to crude and incorrigible, all in the space of less than a second. _You're one of a kind little man._

* * *

Entering orbit around Fortuna was not as easy as it used to be. Months after the Aparoid Invasion and Oikonny's rebellion, a staggering number of dead hulks were still floating in and around Fortuna's gravity well. Federation relief ships had moved the most dangerous wrecks into higher, more stable orbits, pending the manpower to move them to disassembly plants on Macbeth, but they'd been unable to do much about the smaller, less dangerous ones, or the clouds of debris that continued to pose navigational hazards.

Despite that ROB had managed to find a stable, safe, geosynchronous orbit above the capital of Fortuna, Fortune City. Standing on the bridge, Fox crossed his arms as he and his team watched a small cloud of debris drift by, shunted out of the _Great Fox II_ 's orbital path by the vessel's network of navigational deflectors. The navigational deflector array, invented centuries ago during the early days of interplanetary space flight, was a network of tractor beams and fields that passively moved small to micro sized debris out of the flight path of any ship moving at interplanetary or, more importantly, interstellar velocities. Without it, a small micrometeoroid could punch a hole in a ship large enough to decompress an entire deck, or even fatally compromise it if traveling at warp.

However, even with the navigational deflectors rigged at full power, Fox doubted the _II_ would make it through the mission without a scratch. He fully expected the pristine paint job to be marred by blemishes when he returned. That is assuming he ever got down the surface.

"How long does it take?" Falco asked, clacking his beak in irritation.

"They are dealing with a bit of planetary scale crisis at the moment," Krystal reminded the impatient avian.

Planetary crisis indeed. Fox grimaced as he moved towards the edge of the bridge, looking down at the holographically projected view of the planet below. The _II_ had carried over the original _Great Fox_ 's refitted bridge module, which, rather than a vulnerable transparent aluminum window, cocooned the bridge in solid metal, and then used sensors to give the crew a view of the space around them. The original design had drawn initial criticism over the idea that, if the sensors were disabled, there would be no other way to navigate the ship. That is, until Argus and Fara Phoenix, the lead designers of the new Dreadnought refits had reminded less space minded people that trying to fly in space with the equivalent of a windshield would be just as impossible.

Down below them though, sections of Fortuna's nightside were glowing orange. Ever since the initial battle over the planet, followed by the devastation brought by the Aparoid's invasion, debris had been raining down, and that same superheated debris had impacted across Fortuna's heavily forested surface, sparking massive forest fires. The Fortunan Defense Force, in conjunction with local fire departments, as well as with assistance from Corneria and other worlds in Lylat, had managed to contain the worst of the fires, and were now in the process of simply letting the remainder burn themselves out. Nevertheless it was considered an ecological catastrophe, and had displaced hundreds of thousands of people, stretching the Fortunan government's already damaged resources and infrastructure to the breaking point.

"Let's face it," Katt said, sprawled out in the captain's chair, her legs dangling over the side, her pink boots crossed at the ankle, "Oikonny isn't a high priority for them. Not at the moment, anyway."

Slippy, seated at the engineering console, looked up from his portable 3d gaming device and said, "Come on guys, it's been like, five minutes."

Falco's head slowly turned to the toad. "Five minutes? Slippy, it's been over an hour since we hailed the Fortunan government."

Eyes bugging out, Slippy checked the time on his smartwatch. "Oh my gosh you're right. I get so wrapped up in these games."

"What are you playing Slippy?" Krystal walked behind him to look over his shoulder.

"Emblem of Fire." Every head on the bridge turned to face him, a look of death in their eyes. Slippy smirked then and said, "Kidding. I'm playing..."

Before he could finish his sentence the communication console began chirping, and ROB announced in his tinny, inflectionless voice, "We are receiving a signal from Fortunan Space Central."

"Put them on," Fox said, tugging a bit at his vest and straightening the collar of his forest green jumpsuit.

The holoprojector at the head of the bridge blinked into life, and the image of a harried looking lioness with a Fortunan Space Service patch appeared. "Star Fox, my apologies for keeping you waiting. I'm afraid you've caught us in the middle of a relief cycle. We're directing Cornerian and Fichinan aid vessels to the surface and..." the lioness stopped herself. "You don't care about that." Straightening up a bit she began again, "I'm commander Adami. How can I help you?"

Fox put on his best smile, tail flicking a bit behind him. "At the moment we'd like to arrange for a landing pad for four Arwings and an Invader-class space superiority fighter. And we're going to need to get into contact with a member of the Defense service. General Hare should've made those final arrangements though."

Adami tapped away on her keyboard, looking for the order, then nodded. "Yes. I just confirmed that with our Defense Minister. I'll have landing coordinates beamed to your ship in the next few minutes. And the Minister's office will be sending a car for you." She looked back into the holocam. "Is there anything else I can do?"

"We'll be maintaining geosynchronous orbit for the duration of our mission," Fox told her. "Assuming that won't impact any incoming relief convoys," he was quick to add. The last thing he wanted was to cause a traffic jam for a bunch of vessels crammed with emergency supplies.

"Fortune City's next scheduled convoy isn't for three days. If you're done before then it shouldn't be a problem, but anything beyond that and I will contact you to give you a new orbit," Adami told them.

Fox nodded. "Of course."

"Well then," Adami said, "If there's nothing else?"

"We'll let you get back to it," Fox said.

Adami smiled and replied, "Thank you. And good luck with whatever you're doing captain."

The transmission terminated and Fox turned back to his crew. "Alright guys, let's get down there, we've got a job to do."

As soon as the words were out of Fox's mouth the team burst into action, gathering up their gear and heading for the hangar. Just as they were leaving the bridge Krystal pulled Fox aside. She looked a bit...overwhelmed. "What is it?" Fox asked, taking one of her hands in his.

Smiling weakly, Krystal appeared embarrassed. "I just wanted to warn you not to rely on my telepathy down on the surface."

"Why?" Fox looked at her with concern.

"There's a great deal of suffering and strong emotion down there," Krystal explained. "So much that I'll never be able to filter it all out reliably. Not just the people, but the beasts, even the flora. The world is in pain, and if I'm going to be of any use to you I'm going to have to shield my mind from all of it that I can. I hope that makes sense."

"Okay." Fox squeezed her hand. "If you need to sit this one out..."

Krystal's eyes, which had been studying her black and purple boots, shot up to meet his. There was a bit of fire and familiar stubbornness in them. "I'll be fine. Fox, you don't need to protect me. I can handle it."

Blushing a bit, Fox smiled sheepishly. "I know. I know we had that conversation. I just...call it a bad habit. I worry."

Expression softening, Krystal kissed him on the cheek. "That's why I love you. And I'm sorry, call the anger a bad habit too. Now, shall we?"

"Right. Let's go get that monkey."

With that, the two of them sprinted down the ship's main corridor, eager to catch up with their teammates and do the Lylat System another in an ever expanding list of favors.

* * *

The Defense Minister's office was sumptuous. Looking around Katt spotted no less than five items each worth close to fifty-thousand credits. A carving made of Kalla wood, a rare wood found in the Fortunan rain forests. A Classic painting from one of the Cornerian masters. Not to mention a bottle of imported scotch that had a label indicating it was over a hundred years old. All in all, pretty typical for a member of the Fortunan political elite.

Sitting in the office, legs crossed at the knee, Katt glanced at Fox and said, "What are the odds this guy is going to want nothing to do with this op?"

Fox shrugged, not looking optimistic. He'd noted the decor as well, and it had obviously dampened his expectation. This wouldn't be a retired general serving his planet, but a career Fortunan politician, likely with all of the accompanying excesses. The planet's uneven distribution of wealth, combined with a massive criminal underworld, had made it the perfect planet for Oikonny to stage his rebellion from. He could simultaneously decry a Cornerian Federation supported government as corrupt, promise to restore order and provide safety, while also reaping the benefits of a criminal and mercenary class eager to see Lylat descend into chaos. "If I were to guess..."

The door to the office opened, and everyone turned to see who it was. Coming through the door were two individuals. One Katt assumed had to be the Defense Minister. A tall, rakishly handsome lion in a crisp, expensive suit, walked in with the look of a man used to being obeyed and having ultimate authority on all matters under his purview, who had just been told to stuff it and do what he was told. The man who came in behind him Katt recognized immediately however, as did everyone else in the room. Standing up with a big, doofy grin on his face, Fox walked over and hugged the grey furred canine. "Bill! What are you doing here?"

Returning the hug full force, Bill Grey smiled and said, "I'm here to make sure this op goes smoothly. General Hare's orders."

Katt stood up and looked Bill over once Fox had stopped clinging to him. She'd almost forgotten how close those two doofuses had been back in the day. "Is that an oak leaf I see on your shoulder?"

"Yup!" Bill's tail wagged behind him in excitement. "Promoted a month ago. I'm a major."

Behind them a deep, commanding voice cleared its throat. "If we could come to the point, I have several appointments I'm late for."

Katt and everyone else turned back to the Defense Minister. He motioned to the seats and everyone resumed sitting. Bill remained standing though, just a bit off to the side of the Minister. Katt and Krystal shared a glance, and she could tell that even with her jammed telepathy, the blue vixen was getting the sense that Bill really was there to make sure the Fortunans played ball.

Leaning back in his chair, the lion said, "I'm minister Harcourt. Your friend," he glanced at Bill, "Has impressed upon me the level of seriousness with which the Cornerian government takes the possibility of Oikonny's survival. My own government has instructed me to provide you with free reign to deal with the threat, so long as you do not violate any Fortunan laws."

"I don't think we'll need to," Fox said, matching Harcourt's flinty gaze. "Assuming we can do some deep scans from orbit with the _Great Fox II._ "

"What makes you think he'll be so easy to find?" Harcourt asked, looking skeptical.

Slippy piped up to answer that. "The _II_ has the most advanced sensor suite in Lylat. It's designed to allow us to do our own deep and highly detailed scans without having to rely on a planetary network. I've even modified it to be able to see through just about any sort of sensor baffling equipment Oikonny might possess."

Once again Harcourt looked skeptical. "He's the nephew of a renowned if twisted inventor. What makes you think he won't have made a baffler you've never encountered?"

Fox chuckled. "With respect minister, for all his boasting and any shared genes he may have with Andross," Fox spat the name, "Oikonny's an idiot. At least when it comes to invention."

"He is, however, an able tactician," Harcourt reminded Fox pointedly. "Keep in mind that he did invade and take over several areas of this planet only months ago."

"Agreed." Fox shrugged his shoulders. "But keep in mind he had an entire fleet and army at his disposal. Right now, it's doubtful he has more than a few dozen men at his disposal. Not to mention the fact that most of his elite forces would have been wiped out by the Aparoids."

Harcourt continued to look doubtful. "Forgive me for saying this, but if Oikonny really is such a threat that the Cornerian government is taking the matter into their own hands, I feel less than reassured that they have allocated a single mercenary unit to deal with it. No matter your reputation, or the propaganda surrounding you."

Everyone in the room bristled, and Katt was about to give this stuck up lion a piece of her mind, when Bill stepped in. "That's why General Hare has authorized my unit to provide backup. We're the best the Cornerian Army Air Corps has to offer."

Harcourt blew out a long, loud breath, which Katt found incredibly rude. She reminded herself to be diplomatic and not mention it. Finally, he said, "Well, my hands are tied anyway. If you can get Oikonny, you're more than welcome to him. But I'll have to warn you, I don't have the resources for that sort of manhunt right now. Everyone I have is tied up dealing with the forest fires or policing and protecting the refugee camps. I'm not inclined to involve my men in what will likely be a wasted effort to find a single ape already dead."

Katt's hackles rose and she just barely managed not to hiss. Fox just stood up and said, "Don't worry Minister, we'll be done and out of your fur just as soon as possible."

Harcourt nodded and Fox stood up, signaling the end of the meeting. They filed out of the room and as soon as the door shut Katt said, "What a prick."

"He's not usually that bad," Bill replied. "Actually, the last time I deployed to Fortuna he was super accommodating. He's got a lot on his plate right now, and we didn't exactly bring him any good news."

Fox shrugged his shoulders, his tail twitching behind him. "Doesn't matter really, we got the permission we need. We'll head up to the _II_ and start the scans. You wanna join us?"

"Sure. I'd love to see the new ship," Bill said, his own tail wagging behind him. "Is it much different?"

Slippy perked up, opening his mouth to begin expounding on the virtues of the new ship, when Fox simply said, "In all the ways that are noticeable, not much. She does have the new ship smell though."

Slippy looked grumpy, but Bill just chuckled and said, "Well good. Though I wouldn't mind some tech specs."

"Then Slippy's got you covered," Fox said. The toad perked up again and before anyone could rein him in he was regaling Bill with a laundry list of improvements that had been made just for the _II_. Fox just smiled and flicked his tail a bit. Slippy may not have been a miracle in the cockpit, but without the toad's genius level tinkering, he knew his team would be in a far worse place. Looking beside him at Krystal he took her hand, squeezed it, and blushed a little when she nuzzled his cheek. Unprofessional? Absolutely. But then that was the reason why he'd refused Pepper's offer to join the Army all those years ago. Fox wanted his team to be able to do things their own way. With that in mind they headed back for their Arwings, each of them already considering strategies for dealing with Oikonny, that black hearted ape that had caused the Lylat System so much trouble.

* * *

Andrew Oikonny stared at the holo-recording as it played out on the projector in front of him. He wished he could say it had been taken by a mole he had in the Defense Ministry, or by a spy that he used to keep tabs on Fortune City. But no, it was just a social media post made by an intern who happened to walk through the lobby of the Defense Ministry headquarters at the right time. Not nearly as glorious as it would have been during the reign of his uncle Andross, but Oikonny could hardly be ungrateful for the lucky break.

Watching as Fox McCloud and the rest of the Star Fox team walked casually out of the Ministry, he could feel a vein in his temple begin to throb. Those... _mongrels_ had foiled him one too many times in the past. First during the Lylat War, and then again in the skies above Fortuna, destroying his prized head-and-hands combat vessel. They had ruined him that day, destroying his fleet before humiliating him. He almost wished the damn Aparoid moth that had interrupted their fight had actually managed to kill him. Or, better yet, had managed to destroy Fox and his accursed team. Looking to the ape standing beside him, Oikonny asked, "When did we get this?"

"Awhile ago. I mean, it was posted an hour ago, but it could have been taken awhile ago."

Oikonny ran a palm across his face. What sort of an answer was that? Ah well, what could he expect? The last of his uncle's elite soldiers and mercenaries had died in the battle above Fortuna. If not to the Cornerians and Star Fox, then to the Aparoid armada that had invaded shortly thereafter. He was fortunate to have the men that he did. Even if they were dull witted, bottom of the barrel grunts.

Setting the holo recording to loop, Oikonny considered his options. His base out here in the Fortunan hinterlands was well camouflaged, capable of avoiding detection by most scans. Thus far Fortuna's local planetary network had been unable to determine his location. In fact he doubted they'd had any idea he was here until Star Fox had arrived. _How did they know I was even here?_

Going over his activities since his defeat Oikonny couldn't think of anything he'd done to tip off Corneria or any other world's intelligence services. They were in such disarray at the moment anyway that he doubted he could have gotten on their radar even if he'd tried. The attack on Corneria City by the Aparoids had been a blessing for the less savory parts of Lylatian society. All of a sudden Corneria's vaunted institutions had been dealt a debilitating blow, losing personnel, data centers, and precious resources. So, how had he been spotted?

Glancing at the looped recording playing above his desk it struck Oikonny that, perhaps, someone had spotted him just the same way that they had spotted Fox and his team. Perhaps he hadn't been quite as careful as he'd imagined. Still, he could make this work for him. Star Fox was just about the only thing standing between him and his plans for rebuilding his uncle's army. The Cornerian fleet had been all but annihilated during their battles with the Aparoids, and without the heroic mercenary team to rescue them in a pinch they would be helpless before his plans.

Turning to the other ape in the room, the captain of his guard-his army, at this point-he said, "Captain, drop the cloak on the north-west corner of the base," he instructed. "And only that corner."

The captain looked at him blankly, not comprehending his leader's plan. That didn't matter though, he saluted and turned around a bit more sharply, responding well to being reminded of his new rank. A rank he'd gotten by virtue of being a shade less dumb than the rest of the grunts who had managed to survive that terrible final battle. Oikonny intended to replace him just as soon as he could find some competent help. In the meantime though he would do his best to motivate his men as effectively as possible.

The door shut behind the captain, and Oikonny turned to look at something more interesting. Sitting on a shelf next to his desk, behind a protective forcefield, sat a bright yellow missile launcher. Not just any launcher though, no, this had been one of Andross's most secret designs. It had never gone into production, and only the prototype existed. He had found it in the vaults beneath the Simian Temple on Venom, in a secret room that had managed to avoid the plundering fingers of the Cornerian Army. Stacked next to it had been four very special missiles, each one hand designed by Andross himself. Each of them had been designed with one purpose in mind: destroying Arwings.

Arwings. They had been the death of Andross twice, and they were universally cursed on Venom and among the Venomian Army. Ground units loathed them especially. The Arwings had been too fast and maneuverable to be shot down by infantry based surface to air missiles, and that vulnerability had allowed the Star Fox team to shred those infantry units in battles from Corneria to Fichina. So, in the waning days of the war, Andross had set himself to designing a new launcher, complete with a new type of missile, specifically designed to kill the Arwing. He had called it the Demon Launcher. And now, with the Lylat War era power core he had managed to acquire through a group of...concerned citizens, Oikonny had a compatible power source with which to use it.

Sitting there, smiling to himself, Oikonny laced his fingers together and whispered, "You're mine Star Fox. _Mine._ "

* * *

A/N: Oikonny you funny. I think this _might_ be the first time I've ever written anything from Oikonny's perspective. If it's not then I did it so long ago I've forgotten. Feel free to berate me in your reviews if I have and have just forgotten.

Next chapter will be up next week, and it'll be the final one. Le gasp! Also, yes, the Demon Launcher is the big ass rocket launcher you could get in Assault's multiplayer. Ah, those were the days. Until next time...

-fuRfurfUrryFuryFurrfUr


	3. Chapter 3 Short Lived Victory

**Chapter 3**

 _ **Short Lived Victory**_

In Krystal's opinion the worst part of any mission was the time spent waiting. Often times Star Fox would spend almost the entire length of their mission waiting, and only the smallest portion of it engaged in actual combat. The waiting was generally down to two things. Space was vast, even the space of a single solar system, and no matter how powerful the engines available to them, it still took hours, occasionally more than a day, to safely traverse the distance to their target. Then there was this mission, which necessitated doing a planetary scan to locate their target. And, no matter how advanced the sensors aboard the _II_ were, scanning an entire planet took a long time.

To help pass the time Krystal had gone through her evening calisthenics a bit early, going through all the basic forms with her staff, and then doing a couple of the old Cerinian dances that had been her favorite as a child and then as a teenager. Memories of her home ambushed her once again. Thoughts of her parents, Sapphire and Jade Zonoc, her sister Fiora, and her kid brother Sabre. All taken away from her. Standing in the shower, the warm water falling in rivulets down her back and between her breasts, Krystal fought against the wave of sadness that crashed over her at thoughts of her lost world. She'd been off on a scouting mission in one of her father's cargo ships when she'd felt it, the death of Cerinia. The pain, shock, and terror that had washed over her sent her telepathy into an overload. She'd blacked out. When she awoke she had been able to feel nothing. Turning around and heading for home she'd done everything she could to convince herself that what she thought had happened, what she _knew_ had happened, had really just been a figment of her imagination. Perhaps just a reaction to her isolation out in deep space. It had been anything but.

Taking a deep breath Krystal banished the thoughts as she always did. She sent them back to a corner of her mind where she could safely contain them. She'd grieved already, and although she would never truly be rid of the pain, the time for wallowing in it had long since passed. Andross, the evil being who had destroyed her world, was gone. Dead. Incinerated. Vaporized. His atoms spread across a cubic AU of space around Sauria.

Krystal grabbed the soap and lathered up her puffer. She scrubbed the shampoo into her fur, determined to get the scent of sweat off her body, to be replaced by the soothing smell of lavender. Lavender. The Cornerian version wasn't quite the same as the type on her home world, but it was close enough that it brought back memories. And doubts. What if there had been others? Could she really have been the only one of her people to have escaped Cerinia's destruction? Those thoughts and doubts haunted her in unguarded moments. Part of her wanted her to believe she was the only one, to accept that she would be the last of her kind, and that she would die one day without ever having seen her parents, her siblings, or any of her people again.

 _No._ She didn't believe that, much as it might be comforting in some way. It was ridiculous to think her people, with their technology and spacefaring abilities, had been totally wiped out. There were others, she knew that. Perhaps only a few. Or perhaps a great many. She didn't know how her world had been destroyed, only that it had been. She also knew that when she had arrived at the graveyard, with the tumbling, still cooling remains of her planet, that she had arrived days after the tragedy. Long enough for the ion trails of any escaping ships to have dissipated, no matter how hard she had looked.

Dropping the puffer onto the floor of the shower, she rinsed herself, breathing in the steam of the hot shower through her nose, letting it clear her sinuses. There were others out there. She would never stop believing that. And, one day, she would find them. _I promise._

* * *

Falco sat in the lounge onboard the _Great Fox II_ , staring out at the slowly rotating disk of Fortuna. The _II_ had left geosynchronous orbit and was now tracing a slow path around the planet, sensors probing for any sign of Oikonny's base. At the moment they were passing over one of Fortuna's seas, and the blue green tint of the water reminded him a bit of Zoness. It also reminded him of the fact that he hadn't been home to his planet in years. Not since he'd taken flight and left the Hot Rodders to fly solo.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Falco perked up at the sound of that sweet, seductive voice. He looked behind him and tipped his beak at Katt, who came to sit beside him. She handed him a cup of something hot, and he took it. He held it up and let the smell fill his nostrils. Hot cocoa. "Where'd you get this? We ran out last week, and we're not due to restock on luxury items for another three."

"I keep some in my ship," Katt explained. "I never like to be anywhere without it."

"Yeah, you always did like the stuff," Falco replied, taking a sip. It tasted like good, premium stuff. He grunted in appreciation. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Cuddling up to him, Katt said, "Shouldn't you?"

"Heh. I guess." Falco wrapped a wing around her, and privately admitted how good it felt to be able to do that. He and Katt had had a rocky relationship all their lives, full of falling outs and making up. Through it all though they'd always been there for each other. Falco genuinely cared about her, even though he found it hard to admit it to anyone but himself. Hell, he found it hard to admit that he cared about _anyone_ to anyone but himself. But Katt...that was really hard.

"It feels good, you know," Katt whispered, her voice just loud enough for him to hear. "Being here. With you."

Falco glanced at her, not sure how to respond. He took another sip of his drink to cover himself while he tried to think of something clever, or at the very least raunchy. He settled for a, "Yeah. I bet it does."

Next to him he felt Katt bristle a bit, and he noticed that her tail had fluffed up a little. "How does it feel for you?"

 _Oh boy._ Falco resisted the urge to sigh. She was really after him tonight, and not in the way he preferred. She was being touchy-feely, only with emotions instead of her dexterous fingers. Falco didn't know quite how to react. _Maybe honesty, for once?_ Falco nearly jumped at the sound of that voice in his head. It wasn't his. It didn't sound like his. At least it didn't sound like something he would say. Then again...maybe his problem always had been that he just couldn't be honest about his feelings. Looking around the lounge to confirm they were alone, Falco made a decision. A snap decision because he loathed putting thought into things. Sitting up a little straighter and looking at Katt dead in the eyes, he said, "Good enough that I want you to stay here. With me. With the team."

Katt blinked once, then twice. Then she smiled. A big, wide, tooth filled smile. Setting her drink down on the coffee table in front of them, she threw her arms around Falco and kissed him on the beak. "I'll talk to Fox in the morning."

Setting his cup next to hers rather than risk spilling it and ruining the moment, Falco wrapped his arms around his pink kitty and nuzzled her neck with his beak. Both of them squeezed each other tight, and finally Falco whispered something he'd never said aloud before. "I love you, Katt."

Falco could feel hot tears on his face as Katt hugged him tighter. "I know birdie. I always knew."

The two of them spent the rest of the night holding each other. No sex, which was a first for the two of them when in such close proximity. Instead they were content with just a close, tight embrace. They stayed like that until both of them fell asleep, in each other's arms, feeling closer together than they'd ever felt before.

* * *

The call came in the middle of the night, as usual. Fox, lying in bed with an arm around Krystal, cursed as the sound of ROB's voice woke him from a deep, pleasant sleep. "Captain McCloud, this is ROB, scanners have detected an anomaly on the surface. It falls within specified parameters. Please report to the bridge immediately."

"Ugh." Fox groaned and sat up, flicking on the light. Krystal made an annoyed sound at him when the light hit her eyelids. "Sorry," Fox apologized sleepily.

"Nature calling?" Krystal mumbled, still mostly asleep.

"Duty, actually," Fox told her.

"You can have my booty in the morning. Sleep now though."

Krystal's voice remained slurred with tiredness, and a moment later he heard her breathing slow back to sleep levels. Smiling a little, Fox tapped her rear through the blankets and then stood to get dressed. _This had better be a serious break, or I'm going to have ROB disassembled._

Fox made his way up to the bridge, yawning and rubbing sleep from his eyes as he rode the turbolift. The door hissed open and he stepped out onto the command deck. There was no night on a starship, not as planet bound sentients understood it, but to help mark the passage of time, and keep the crew's circadian rhythms synchronized, the bridge and the rest of the ship had had the lighting dimmed to simulate the lateness of the hour. "Alright ROB, what have you got for me?"

ROB rose from where he had been sitting at the ships' conn. Walking over to the situation table, he plugged himself into the holographic display and projected an image of Fortuna's surface. Part of the section flashed red, and Fox willed his eyes to stay open and figure out what it was. Giving up after just a moment, he glanced at the robot and said, "What am I looking at?"  
"Sensors have detected a non-organic signature in this area of Fortuna's equatorial jungle," ROB explained.

"Could be a research station, or an uncharted settlement. There are a lot of refugees and less savory types moving around Lylat these days," Fox pointed out, though the information had caught his interest.

"This sector is also reading highly positive for Chronon particles."

Fox stared at ROB for a moment, wishing Slippy had been the one the robot had called and not him. Obviously this was supposed to mean something, and if his brain hadn't been so concerned with slipping back into bed and wrapping his arm around his very warm vixen, he might have actually been able to recall what those particles were connected to. "Chronon particles? And just in applied terms. Consistent with your search parameters."

"Chronon particles are emitted by phased cloaking technology," ROB informed him.

It clicked with Fox. In the battle of Fortuna Oikonny had used phased cloaking technology to hide his stealth ships. They'd been completely invisible to their sensors, and it was only after the battle that anyone had figured out that they emitted the strange, quantum particles. "You mean someone has an invisible base down there?"

"Affirmative."

Fox smiled, all thoughts of sleep leaving his mind. His body felt energized. Looking at the holotable he let his smile turn into a full on grin. "Get Bill and the rest of the team up here for a briefing. And keep calling Falco until he gets here, no matter what override codes he uses."

"Understood."

Putting his hands on the edge of the table and leaning forward, Fox's tail wagged behind him as he said, "Checkmate."

* * *

With a hacking cough Fox climbed out of his shattered cockpit. His entire body burned with pain, a thousand tiny cuts from the shattered transparent aluminum crisscrossing along his bloodsoaked pelt. He tumbled to the ground next to his ruined Arwing, groaning through clenched teeth. His eyes were squeezed shut against the pounding in his head. For a moment he just laid there, breathing hard, trying to regain control of himself. He'd been shot down before, and he knew what serious injury felt like. Opening his eyes he did his best to examine himself, and felt a wash of relief to discover no serious injuries. Everything looked to be superficial.

Standing up he nearly crumpled again as a shooting pain ran up his left leg. "Oh god. Oh yeah, that's something fractured." Putting his weight on his right leg he looked around for signs of the rest of his team. They'd been assaulting Oikonny's base, and everything had seemed to be going well. Their first volley had destroyed his cloaking generator and the two AAA emplacements defending the facility. They'd been coming around for another pass when it had all gone right down the proverbial toilet.

Not far from where Fox's Arwing had buried its once shining nose in the dirt, Fox could see the smoking remains of another. He started moving towards it, dreading what he might find. Thinking of Krystal he felt gripped by a sudden terror. He reached out for her with his mind, not sure if she would be able to sense him through their fledgling mental link, considering what she had told him the day before on the _II_. He got no response. He shuddered and then resumed his slow, agonizing walk to the other Arwing. They'd crashed so close it was a wonder they hadn't collided with each other.

Reaching the ship, which was smoking and spitting sparks from its sheared off right wing, Fox looked to the cockpit. He saw a flash of blue, and felt his hopes go up. The cockpit burst open, propelled off the Arwing by the detonation of the emergency pins. Falco climbed out, his flightsuit burned in places, but looking in far better condition than Fox. In a move typical of the avian, Falco smoothed his feathered crest, trying to appear nonchalant, even though Fox knew his friend was terrified.

"Falco," Fox managed to grunt through his clenched teeth.

Falco whipped around to look at him, then came running over. "Fox! Fox you okay?" Falco put an arm under Fox's, holding him up and letting the vulpine lean on him. "What the hell hit us?"

"I don't know. Some sort of surface to air missile." Fox's knees buckled and Falco lowered him gently to the ground. Gasping for breath, Fox said, "Did you see anyone else go down?"

"Yeah. Slippy got hit, and I haven't heard anything from Krystal." Falco shook his head. "This is bad."

Fox chuckled, then coughed as he noticed for the first time through all the other pain, that he definitely had at least one bruised rib. "Nah, this is fucking great."

"What do you mean?" Falco looked at his captain with concern, no doubt worried the vulpine was becoming delirious.

Looking straight on at Falco, Fox said, "This means we get to bill for new Arwings."

"What?" Falco stared incredulously at Fox. "How do you figure?"

"New contract," Fox explained, happy to talk about anything if it kept him from focusing entirely on his discomfort. _Discomfort is putting it mildly,_ he mused. "We get our fee, plus expenses. That includes lost or damaged equipment. And I made sure Arwings got listed in that."

This time Falco chuckled. "Smooth Foxy. Smooth."

"What about Katt?"

Falco looked at the sky. They couldn't hear any weapons fire. And they'd been engaging half a squadron when the missiles hit. "I think she bugged out."

"Great." Fox's tail twitched.

"She'll be back," Falco assured him. "And with the cavalry."

"Yeah. Yeah I know."

They were silent for a moment, perking up when they heard a rustling in the jungle around them. Eyes darting they both groaned at the sight of armored Venomians approaching, weapons raised. Falco looked ready to do something stupid, and Fox used what strength he had to elbow him in the side. Falco looked at him and visibly restrained himself. "Hey boys," Fox said before Falco could do what he always did and mouth off. "Sorry if I don't put my hands up, little difficult at the moment."

"Hands up," the lead Venomian said.

Fox sighed and looked towards the sky. "They never listen." Then he yowled with pain as he was pushed to the ground and had a pair of handcuffs slapped on his wrists. "Oh for..." And then a gag. "Fuffing weawwy?"

Falco swore as he received the same treatment, and let loose with a string of muffled expletives. As they were roughly picked up, Fox felt his tail go limp behind him, and his vision began to tunnel. His last thought before passing out was of Krystal, wondering if she was safe, or if he had just lost another part of himself to the dead Andross's ilk.

* * *

Oikonny paced in the smoking ruins of his base. He'd been a bit slow to take down the Star Fox team. No fault of his own of course. His soldiers had taken several moments longer to sound the alarm then they should have. If he'd had more than just the handful of pilots and troopers at his disposal he might have been more tempted to order an execution or two. Those were always solid motivators. Not to mention an excellent method for eliminating weak links and reducing payroll expenses. But no, he didn't have the numbers to consider his men disposable. _More's the pity._

Where had it all gone wrong? Not a day went by when Oikonny didn't put his mind to finding out where his uncle Andross had erred. Everything seemed to have been going so well in the beginning. True, Andross had been exiled to a nearly lifeless planet, but he'd made it work for him. He'd made a peace with the settlers that were there, all of them exiles eeking out a living on a barren waste. Then he'd enticed others to come and help him remake that wasteland, Venom, into a paradise unlike any in the galaxy. And they'd come. Mostly simians and reptilians, but there were plenty of others. People from the other worlds in Lylat besides Corneria mostly. Millions and millions of souls had migrated to Venom, pledging their allegiance to the one man who could right all of the wrongs in Lylat. After all, no one else had the brains to do so.

And it hadn't just been people migrating to Venom. Across the Lylat System, especially on worlds like Macbeth and Fortuna, rough frontier worlds with corrupt governments and populations who held a simmering resentment towards the Cornerian Federation, people had sworn their loyalty to Andross. They had formed everything from legitimate political parties, to terrorist cells. And, admittedly, the two were sometimes quite hard to tell apart. It had seemed though that the Lylat System had been ready for a change. A drastic, revolutionary one. Uncle Andross had seen it, and he struck out right as things were about to boil over, using his advanced technology and a fleet he had built in secret to slowly, methodically, roll back the forces of Corneria and pave the way for a Lylat ruled by one man. They'd been on the very cusp of victory when everything had finally fallen apart. Like a line of dominoes, Venom's forces had fallen, its best commanders killed one by one. _Star Fox._

Star Fox. Yes that was where it had started. All of it. Oikonny was sure of it. They'd broken the siege of Corneria, and then lead the counteroffensive that had turned the tables on Andross and his unstoppable army. Fox McCloud had fought his way through Venom's defenses, and then killed Andross. Robbing Oikonny of an uncle, and one of his few living relatives, not to mention robbing Lylat of a glorious, prosperous future. Oikonny felt certain that had Andross still been alive when the Aparoids invaded, things would have gone a lot differently. A lot better. _If only there were some remnant, some last pieces of my uncle's legacy left._

Oikonny's reverie was broken when one of his troopers came running up, breathless, his simian face flushed with excitement. "We found them sir. We have them. We have Star Fox!"

The news sent a rush of excitement through Oikonny. He'd shot their Arwings out of the sky with his demon launcher, and now he had the beasts themselves. Maybe, just maybe, there was still hope for Lylat. Or, more importantly, hope for Andross's one true heir: Andrew Oikonny.

Fox's eyes fluttered open, and he moaned around the gag in his mouth. He looked up and saw a flat, pink fleshed, simian face staring down at him. Oikonny. The damn ape wanted to gloat. Fox growled low in his throat, his eyes flicking around to look for his team. He spotted Falco, two guards on him, and Krystal, kneeling on the ground, hands bound and gagged like the rest of them, though her usual calm poise was still in place. And then there was Slippy. Tears streamed from the amphibian's eyes, but Fox noted the defiant set of his shoulders, and the way his body didn't shake. The toad might have been crying, but he was still more than spoiling for a fight. _Sometimes Slip, I think you're the bravest out of all of us,_ Fox thought to himself, catching Slippy's eyes and trying to impart some confidence.

Fox heard someone walk up behind him and tensed, expecting to feel the cold barrel of a gun pressed against the back of his skull. Instead the gag fell away and Fox worked his jaw out of reflex. "Well, that's not what I expected."

Staring down at him, trying and failing to look aristocratic rather than petty, Oikonny said, "Fox McCloud, you have no idea how long I've waited for this moment."

Fox saw Falco roll his eyes, and he couldn't help but do the same. "Look Oikonny, my ribs are bruised, I've got blood, dirt, and sweat all over me, and the parts of me that don't hurt sting like crazy. Can we please just cut to the part where you declare victory and shoot me in the head?"

It didn't seem to be the response Oikonny had planned for. He stared at Fox for a moment, wondering just what he should do. Did he do as Fox suggested and get it over with? Or did he waste some more time gloating even though it wouldn't be as satisfying as he'd thought it would be. The logical, sensible thing to do would have been to kill Fox and his team right then there, but as usual, Oikonny did not choose that option.

"McCloud, you're a stubborn, arrogant fool," Oikonny began again.

"I've gotta say Oikonny, when it comes to making speeches you're no Agnus Vulpine." Fox looked over Oikonny's shoulder a bit. Being vulpine his ears were more sensitive than anyone else in the camp, with the exception of Krystal, and he could swear he heard a familiar sound. _Keep him off balance, distracted. Because I think I know what's coming._

Irritation growing visible in his expression, Oikonny began a third time, "You, McCloud, are no match for me. You never were, and never will be. I've proven that now, once and for all."

Fox snorted. "Right. And the Venom sea can support life."

Face purple with rage, Oikonny lashed out and smacked Fox across the muzzle. Fox fell to the ground, but was put back up by the trooper behind him. Oikonny seemed to consider ordering Fox to be thrown to the ground again, but refrained. He took a breath and then started on his fourth attempt at a gloating victory speech. "My uncle's legacy will once again be assured, now that you have fallen to the might of his Demon Launcher."

Fox's eyes darted over to the large yellow missile launcher that was sitting unattended a few meters from Oikonny. _Ignorant. Incompetent. And just plain stupid. No wonder Wolf didn't shed a tear when he left Star Wolf._ "What? That golden rod? Thing looks like vintage Lylat War."

"Ah yes," Oikonny replied, looking proud. "Invented by the great Emperor Andross, specifically to shoot you and your pesky Arwings down. I really must thank your Katt Monroe, if it weren't for her generosity when dealing with concerned citizens I might never have got it working."

Fox betrayed no hint of the fact that he was no vowing to skin Katt alive. He didn't believe for a minute that Katt had intentionally helped Oikonny but... _This is exactly why you don't run guns for people._

Oikonny wasn't done though. "With your defeat all of Lylat will once more be given the chance to live under the enlightened rule of a great Androssian thinker."

Fox snorted. "Really? Where is he?"

Oikonny was about to attempt a witty retort when the noise Fox had picked up escalated into an unmistakeable roar. Turning around and looking towards the sky, Oikonny's jaw dropped at the sight of a squadron of Cornerian fighters rocketing towards them, led by a Venomian Invader-class starfighter. The fighter, painted pink, was instantly recognizable. "What? Who?"

Grinning as the first bolts of precisions laser fire began to pick off Oikonny's troopers, Fox looked up at Bulldog squadron and then back at Oikonny. "You're worst nightmare."

* * *

 **Epilogue**

Sunlight streamed into the hospital ward that Fox and his team were occupying at Cornerian Army Headquarters. Next to Fox sat Peppy, the hare looking a little haggard, but otherwise none the worse for wear. His red and gold uniform was crisp, and his boots shined in the light. "So," said Fox, "Oikonny is in custody, the last of his organization is being rooted out, and with the Aparoid's gone it looks like Lylat doesn't have too much to worry about.."

Peppy shook his head, taking a moment to smooth his mustache. "Wrong, there is one thing I'm worried about."

Fox's ears perked, and he felt the entire room lean forward a bit. "What is it?" Fox asked, feeling a sudden desire to leap out of the hospital bed and go straight at whatever was threatening the system for the umpteenth time, no matter what it was.

"That. That right there." Peppy sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm not taking the change in job quite as well as I would have hoped. I'm still trying to get used to the idea that I can't directly support you the way I used to. Somehow I feel like, had I been there, you might have pulled through with less injury. So it's you I'm worried about."

Fox chuckled. "Don't worry too much Pep. Besides, it's not your fault. It's Katt's."

"I said I was sorry," Katt groused, blowing a lock of platinum blond hair out of her eyes as she stood next to Falco's bed, stroking his beak. For some reason the avian seemed to enjoy it, much like Fox enjoyed a good neck rub.

"Either way, I'm gonna ride your ass hard for the next six months while you earn your place on the team," Fox replied. He blushed the moment his muzzle closed and he realized what he'd said. "Oh goddammit."

"Hey Foxy, I'd appreciate you not going after my girl," Falco said, eyeing Fox with mock suspicion.

"Please no," Fox whispered.

"You know Foxy," Krystal said, eyes alight with mischief, "If I weren't telepathic I might think you were planning on having an affair. What do you think Katt?"

Smirking, the pink feline said, "I think it might just be that Fox likes my ass better than yours."

Giggling, Krystal replied, "Mm? Is that so Foxy?"

"What?!" Fox sputtered, his ears on fire. "No!" Katt glared at him and arched an eyebrow. "I mean, Katt, you have a great..." Falco's head snapped around to look at the vulpine again, "...what I mean is..."

"You guys are so immature," Slippy said, looking up from his Captain Pond comic book.

Regaining a bit of his composure, Fox took a deep, calming breath and looked back at Peppy. The hare was smiling underneath his mustache. "Still worried?"

Chuckling, Peppy said, "More than ever. What about you?"

Fox looked over at his team, now plus one pink feline, and felt his tail thump against the bed. "Nah."

"Why is that?" Peppy asked, looking at the team with Fox.

"Because we're Star Fox," Fox replied, his voice and tone brimming with pride and confidence.

Looking at the motley assortment of misfits, Peppy stroked his mustache and nodded in approval. "That you are."

* * *

A/N: And that's a wrap. I'll try to be brief here, but you know me.

To state the obvious, this story was short. My objective here was to write something short and self contained set in the Canon universe. What ended up happening was that, in process of writing this story, I came up with several new ideas for the Post-Assault Canon universe. Some of the foreshadowing in this story should be pretty obvious, so I'm not going to bother to point it out. But I do have some serious plans for this Canon universe, so expect more stories set within it.

Finally I'll just update you guys on The First Generation, the next story in my AU that started off with Power of the Ancients. I am now...seven? Yeah, seven I think, chapters in. The plot is figured out and mostly locked, and the characters are all developing the way I was hoping they would. Now that this story is fully posted I'm buckling down and getting into full tilt production mode on First Generation. I'm hoping to get it done in about a month, but don't be surprised if that doesn't quite end up happening. Either way, I'm confident it'll be worth the wait for everyone. There's some *seriously* good stuff that I'm looking forward to sharing.

And with that I'll bid y'all adieu. Until next time...

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